Reunited and it feels so good! Whoopi Goldberg (Celie) and Oprah Winfrey (Miss Sofia) reunited on “The View” this week as the pair marked 40 years since the release of Steven Spielberg’s “The Color Purple,” the 1985 film that helped launch both women into national prominence. The reunion saw Goldberg and Winfrey reflect on the film’s enduring emotional power and the ways it shaped their early careers. 

This isn’t Goldberg and Winfrey’s first reunion. The two superstars reunited on the Oscars stage just last year to honor the film’s longtime collaborator, producer, and composer Quincy Jones. Goldberg and Winfrey joined on stage to introduce Queen Latifah’s tribute performance for Jones, who died in November 2024. 

“The Color Purple”—an adaptation of Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel—earned 11 Academy Award nominations after its release and grossed nearly $100 million at the box office, becoming a cultural touchstone for its unflinching exploration of Black womanhood, trauma, and resilience. Both women were nominated for Oscars: Goldberg was nominated for Best Actress, and Winfrey earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. 

The pairing of Goldberg and Winfrey also resonated because “The Color Purple” remains a touchstone in the careers of both stars. Goldberg’s performance earned early critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination that helped establish her as a serious actor. Winfrey’s supporting turn and later work as a producer signaled the start of a multi-hyphenate trajectory that would make her one of the industry’s most powerful and successful figures to date. The film’s themes — family, resilience, and systemic injustice — continue to be revisited across stage and screen, including a 2023 musical adaptation, starring Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks as Celie and Sofia, that introduced the story to new audiences. Brooks received a Best Supporting Actress nomination.  

In an Instagram post to celebrate their reunion on “The View,” the caption read: "40 years later, Celie and Sofia are doing good ya’ll 💜Today, @oprah and @whoopigoldberg reunited on @theviewabc and it was like we were back in 1985!"